Vera Sidika has caused quite a storm with her open unapologetic bleaching. When it started off, there were trolls from every corner of the internet taking shots at her. But now things just got serious. When I first posted about Vera toasting the creams she uses and thanking them for making her lighter, I refused to get in too deep to the story and the issues.
As far as I was concerned this is not the avenue for discussing such issues. but for me to say that is sheer cowardice. Plus someone else will just come out to ask all the tough questions. So I will do that… Some other day. For now, allow me to show you how a top American website called Vice picked on the story, the angle they opted to use and the story they ran:
Rich Kenyans Are Injecting Themselves with Black Market Creams to Become White
Standing in a small wooden booth cluttered with brightly colored cosmetics boxes a heavily made up woman unwraps a syringe and a needle, then fills the syringe with pink cream that’s been decanted from a blue packet. “You must only use a small amount, otherwise you can become albino. This is strong stuff,” she says as she pricks her customer’s skin.
Rose is one of dozens of skin bleaching gurus that operate along River Road in downtown Nairobi, a hub for illicit activities that is notorious for its knock-off electronics, budget brothels, flamboyant transsexuals and petty crime. It is also known for its backstreet beauticians, like Rose, who promise clients that their treatments will make them look six years younger and ten shades lighter.
These salons have been around for a long time, and have caused a number of health scares over the years, often due to creams with high mercury content, but recently more extreme treatments have started to become popular and are causing concern amongst health officials.
The popularity of skin-bleaching injections has rocketed over the last 18 months according to Dr Pranav Pancholi, a Harvard-trained dermatologist who works at Kenya’s Shah Hospital. Pranav says because it’s a recent phenomenon, no one really knows what the long-term health implications are.
“The products used on the streets are not used by certified professionals” he says. “The trade in black market creams and injections is completely unregulated. There is no way of knowing just how dangerous they are.”
